Conveying apparatus.



- Patantod Nov. l4, I899.

T. S. MILLER.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

CONVEYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,142, dated November 14, 1899.

Application filed July 28, 1898. Serial No. 687,153i (No model-J To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs SPENCER MIL- LER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gonveying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in conveying apparatus having for its primary object conveying coal or other commodities between vessels at sea; and it consists of certain novel parts and combination of parts particularly pointed outin the claims concluding this specification, the same being covered, generically, by application Serial No. 700,836, filed by me December 31, 1898.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention applied to conveying coal from a collier to a war-ship at sea.

Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations, and Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention applied in the form which is at present preferred by me 3 but it will be understood that Various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or without exceeding the scope of my claims. The following is a description of the structure shown in the drawings:

Referring to Fig. 1,5 is a collier, 6 a war Vessel to which coal is being transferred, and 7 is a Vessel attached to the rear end of the cable. In Fig. 2 sea-anchors 8 8 are substituted for the vessel 7. (Shown in Fig. 1.) In my previous application above referred to I have shown and described a compensating engine attached to the rear end of the cable for the purpose of maintaining at all times during operation the tension requisite to keep the cable in an elevated position between the collier and the ship. This tension may obviously vary anywhere between the energy necessary to maintain the cable between the ships at a properelevation and the tensile strength of the cable. In my present invention the compensating engine is dispensed with, and the requisite tension on the cable is obtained and maintained by means external to the collier. 'Several means for this purpose may be employed. For example, in

Fig. 1 it is a ship or object moving on the surface of the water against the friction and resistance of the water through which it moves, and in this case the tension may be adjusted by working the engines on the vessel 7 either to increase or reduce it. This vessel may be any ordinary vessel with or without motive power, or it may be, if preferred, a vessel especially designed and constructed for the purpose. In Fig. 2 I have shown sea-anchors attached to the rear end of the cable to maintain the desired tension. In using these it is obvious that the tension may be varied by increasing or diminishing the number or size of the anchors or by changing the speed of towing. In both these instances the means employed to apply the requisite tension to the cable are moving objects; but a fixed object of any suitable character may be employed in those cases where the War-ship may remain at rest while the coaling operation is being conducted. In the drawings I have shown the cable made up of two parts-to wit, a tension-cable 9 and an endless or conveying cable 10; but it might be attached to a single continuous cable, as described in my said application.

The following is a description of the manner in which the conveying or endless cable is led above the sheaves. This is illustrated in detail in Fig. 4, in which 11 is the conveying engine or drum, from which the cable passes around sheave 12, then 13, then 14, then 15, then 16. 17 17 are idle pulleys. 18 is thetension-carriage. It will be observed that the conveying-cable 10 passes around the moving sheave 14 at one end and the sheaves on the tension-carriage at the other end without passing around intermediate fixed sheaves, the result being that the increasing or decreasing of the distance between the ships 5 and 6 does not cause any relative movement of either branch of this cable or, in other words, does not cause any movement of the cable-rope around the sheave 14. Furthermore, it will be observed in the arrangement shown that the tension-carriage moves through only one half the space through which the sheave 14 moves in compensating for the varying distances between the ships. v

In Fig. 1 I have shown a single load-car= riage 19, while in Fig. 2 I have shown the ca ICO ble provided with a series of hangers 20, (shown in detail in Fig. 3,) in which 10 is one of the branches of the conveying-cable and 20 is a hanger provided with a hook below and a gripping bend or angle above, which fits over and grips the cable sufficiently to prevent its moving longitudinally on the rope in passing up and down the grades of the cable. In Fig. 1, where there is a single load-carriage, which must be conveyed to and from the war-ship, the conveying-cable will have a reciprocating motion, while in Fig. 2, where hangers are employed, this rope may have a continuous motion in one direction. It is the design that the hangers 20 be removed from the cable at its receiving end either automatically or by hand and be again attached to the cable (after the load is discharged) on the opposite side of the sheave, to be conveyed back to the collier. Any suitable carriage or hanger may be employed. For example, the weight of the carriage may be imposed upon both the branches of the cable simultaneously, as shown in my said pending application, or similar carriages may be used when the motion of the conveying-cable is continuous in one direction provided the operation of moving them in one direction be arrested long enough to permit the empty carriages to be returned in the opposite direction.

22 is a tow-line connecting the ships 5 and 6 and by means of which the ship 5 is propelled.

23 is a tow-line connecting the ships 5 and 7. If the requisite tension on the cable is no more than the resistance offered to the passage of the boat 5 or anchors 8 through the water, no work will be imposed upon the cable 23. Under these conditions it will, however, prevent the tension-carriage 18 being brought back against the rear mast of the collier. In the same way cable 22 will prevent the carriage 18 running against the forward mast.

24 24 are the buoys, such as are ordinarily connected with drag-anchors, and 25 25 are lines connected with the buoys for the purpose of raising the same.

Instead of using a conveying-engine 11 on the collier a single cable from the war-ship over the collier and to the drag may be employed, on which the load will be transferred to the warship by gravity alone by suitably adjusting the elevations at the discharging and receiving ends of the cable.

1n the foregoing specification I have incidentally referred to some of the modifications which might be adopted in the practice of my invention; but I have not endeavored to specify all the modifications which might be employed, the object of this specification being to instruct persons skilled in the art to practice my invention in the form which is at present preferred by me and to enable them to understand'its nature, and I desire it to be distinctly understood that mention by me of a few modifications is in no way intended to exclude others not referred to, but which are within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Many of the details and combinations illustrated and above described are not essential to the several inventions broadly considered. All this will be indicated in the concluding claims, where the omission of an element or the omission of reference to the detailed features of the elements mentioned is intended to be a formal declaration of the fact that the omitted elements or features are not essential to the inventions therein severally covered.

What I claim is- 1. In combination, a plurality of boats, a cable connecting said boats, a load-carriage traveling on the cable, and means external to said boats for maintaining a normal elevation of said load-carriage by the resistance of the water.

2. In combination, a plurality of boats, a cable connecting said boats, a load-carriage traveling on the cable, and means for maintaining a normal elevation of said load-carriage during its passage, which means consist of an object moving through water whereby the resistance of the water to its movement is applied in opposition to the strain on the cable.

3. In a conveying apparatus, the combination of an endless conveying-cable, a sheave at the discharging end thereof, movable sheaves at the receiving end, around which both branches of the cable pass and a tension device secured to both of said movable sheaves by which suitable tension is maintained while the distance between the sheaves at the opposite ends is varied.

4. In a conveying apparatus, a towing-boat, a towed boat, a tow-line connecting the two, a carrying-cable extending from the towingboat over the towed boat and secured to an object external to said towed boat.

5. In a conveying apparatus, a towing-boat, a towed boat, a towing-cable connecting the two, a conveying-cable extending from the towing-boat to an object external to the towed boat, and a towing-cable connecting said object with said towed boat.

6. In conveying apparatus, an endless conveying-cable, means for propelling the same, a load carriage supported thereby, both branches of said cable passing about pulleys, and means for constantly subjecting said pu1- leys to a suitable tension to maintain the carriage in an elevated position.

7. In a conveying apparatus,a pulling-boat, a pulled boat, a pull-line connecting the two, a ropeway between said boats, a ship-anchor and a connection between one end of said ropeway and said ship-anchor whereby the resistance of the water to the ship-anchor holds said ropeway taut, substantially as described.

THOS. SPENCER MILLER.

Witnesses:

FRED S. KEMPER, ALBERT E. LAYCOCK. 

